Chinese Teen Wang Haoyu Clocks Sub-48 In 100 Freestyle At Spring Champs; Olympic Titlist Wang Shun Looks Strong
Another teenager is making noise in the 100-meter freestyle, as 17-year-old Wang Haoyu broke the 48-second barrier at the Chinese Spring Championships. With the World Championships in Fukuoka scheduled for this summer, Wang clocked a performance of 47.89 to enter his name into the medals conversation.
En route to his victory, Wang went out in 23.26 and came home in an impressive 24.63. Not only did Wang defeat runnerup Chen Juner (48.58), his effort should capture the attention of the sport. With another four months until the World Champs, and history noting rapid gains by teenagers, Wang could be on a trajectory that makes him a factor at the World Champs.
Olympic champion Wang Shun claimed a pair of gold medals, highlighted by a title in the 200 individual medley. Wang produced a time of 1:57.19 in his prime event, which was a half-second clear of Qin Haiyang (1:57.68). He also topped the field in the 100 backstroke, on the strength of a 54.09 mark.
In other action, Li Bingjie was quickest in the 1500 freestyle, clocking a time of 16:04.06. Meanwhile, Lu Liyan emerged victorious in the 200 butterfly. Lu touched the wall in 2:08.59.
Note: A special thanks to the Chinese Swimming News & Results Twitter feed for publishing results.